Life of a missionary- It's finally time (Part 1)

All of my life I have seen and heard about these people who get a mission call to serve in all sorts of far off places. Some would go anywhere from a state away or clear to the other side of the world! I would be there when they gave a final talk in church before they ventured off to wherever they had been called to serve. Two years later they would show up again and tell some of the experiences they had. Other than these moments and some movies I had seen I didn't really know what life was like for these people who left to serve missions.

The time eventually comes for every young man and woman that is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to decide if a mission is the direction they want to take in life. That time came for me and I decided that I was going to go. I had no expectations or ideas of what was going to happen on this adventure that I was going to embark on. If you've never served a mission it's likely that you don't know what it is like either. If you have served then you can relate in some ways and some things will be completely different as each mission has their own things they do.

I thought I'd let you have a glimpse at what life has been like for me the past two years...

FINALLY!

The first step you take is to send in a packet of information about yourself into mission headquarters. A few weeks later you get an envelope back that gives you a glimpse of what life is going to be like for the next two years. Let the first test begin...waiting...waiting...waiting...checking every day to see if there is an envelope waiting for you in the mail. (It's been at least an hour since they sent my papers in and my call isn't here yet?!)Those few weeks seem longer than the rest of your life combined! The moment you send those papers off it seems someone hits the slow motion button on the universe.

The day finally comes when you open up the mailbox and see that envelope sitting there. It is like every Christmas morning you've ever had combined into one moment. You don't know if you should rip it open right away or take your time and invite everybody over. I decided to invite people over to build the anticipation that much more!

As people file their way into your living room and slowly surround you... you feel the drum of your heart pounding away as the song Called To Serve plays on loudspeakers in your mind. You slowly tear the envelope open as if you're practicing to be a heart surgeon. You inch the papers out and begin.  You read your name that now carries a new title... Elder Ethan Oberhansly... You are hereby called to serve in the... WASHINGTON D.C. SOUTH MISSION!?!? (You pause as the excitement floods the room with echoes of gasps, oooohs, aaahhhs, smiles, and jaw drops) It is estimated that you will serve for the period of two years. You will be serving in the English language. Your pounding heart suddenly switches to a dead stop as a wave of emotion crash lands into you!

Set apart from the world.

Every movie you have ever seen where there is a ticking time bomb becomes your reality! The day that you are to report to the missionary training center (MTC) slowly ticks closer and closer. You have a list of supplies you need and a whole world of things you want to get done before that timer ends. That day finally comes when it's time to take upon you a new responsibility. You are set apart by a stake president to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That setting apart means you are set apart from the world. You give up two years of seeing your family, listening to the radio, watching movies, hanging out with friends, reading books, and any other worldly enjoyments that you have come to love. Mathew 10:39 says "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. When we lose ourselves to bless other's live we often find the strength we need to get through our own challenges. 

What are we willing to give up for our Savior?

I leave my family for two years so that other families can be together for eternity.

HOW HAVE YOUR PRAYERS BEEN ANSWERED? WHAT SACRIFICES HAVE YOU MADE TO BLESS SOMEONE'S LIFE? WHAT GOOD HAVE YOU DONE IN THE WORLD TODAY?

If the things around us could talk what would they say? Perspective of missionary life from an Elder's shoes:

Just the other day it seems I sat hoping to go to a strange new land. 

I'd done everything I could I prepared and I planned. 

I hope to be worn by an Elder with pride. 

I want to be part of it all not just sit to the side. 

Maybe through rain, jungles,desert or snow. 

Who knows where I'll be or where I might go. 

Could it be warm or cold maybe spring or fall? 

Will I live up to the task or fall short of it all?

To the MTC to learn and to train.

The bags are packed and I'm off to the plane.

My arrival is near so there's no time for fear.

I wasn't sure what to expect but now know what to do.

My hopes and dreams finally have come through.

From baby steps to walking to running I go. 

My purpose is firm this much I know. 

I cannot slow down this is my time.  

The entire way it seems an uphill climb.

Two years later worn, torn, ripped, bent, and broken I sit. 

I can finally say I never did quit. 

I know I've done the job I've been sent to do. 

I've accomplished everything I needed to. 

Who knew so much would happen in the life of these two worn out shoes.

What would the world around you be saying?